Hey everyone! This is my first fanfiction ever, I'm so excited to finally be publishing something! Please be patient as I figure out the best formatting for the story haha. So just some info before you start reading: I have set the story over the nine months of the school year, starting in September of course. Whenever the month changes I'll put it at the beginning of the chapter! Also, the story is set in California. I know canonically the Recess gang lives in Arkansas, but for the longest time as a kid I thought they lived in California for some reason so that's where I'm setting this story haha. There won't be much T.J./Spin romance until a few chapters in, please bear with me! I have the whole story planned out, and there will be plenty of them in later chapters. Anyway, enjoy!
September
"Go!" I shout. There's a line of cars behind me waiting to turn into the school parking lot, but the car in front of me won't move, despite it being safe to do so. I honk, and the car finally turns. I groan and turn the radio up. I was almost excited this morning when I was getting ready for my last first day, but now that the school is in sight, the familiar dread of the daily grind has set in. Still, it's almost surreal as I pull into the nearest parking spot, knowing that this is the first day of my senior year.
I turn the car off and hop out. I'm nearly five minutes late, which is really kind of early for me. A few other late stragglers are walking to the building. The morning sun is already warm on my face, reminding me that summer summer hasn't really ended. There are still a few warm weeks left.
A hand clapping down on my shoulder jolts me out of my thoughts.
"What the f-" I turn around, startled by the sudden touch, to see T.J. smiling down at me. I should have known he'd be late, too.
"Late on the first day, huh? Not a good way to start the year." I shove him, rolling my eyes.
"You're late, too, genius," I say. He steps in stride beside me, his hands in his jeans pockets.
"Maybe I'm late on purpose," he says. I snort
"Yeah, okay. What class do you have first?" I ask.
"Autoshop," he says. "What about you?"
"English. AP English."
"Right. Can't forget those crucial letters," he says, snickering.
"I earned bragging rights. I studied so much I barely got any sleep last semester."
"True," he says. "NYU better appreciate all the hard work."
I groan. I've heard the letters N-Y-U enough times this past summer to last me for the rest of my life.
"Don't remind me," I say as I open the door to the school. TJ grabs the edge of the door, holding it open as I walk into the building. We walk down the hallway, nearing my classroom.
"What, you're not tired of hearing about college? And your future?" he asks teasingly.
"Piss off, Teej. Wouldn't you be annoyed if your parents were constantly talking about it?"
"Oh, believe me, they do. They don't think trade school is a getting a real education."
I roll my eyes.
"That's just because Becky went to USC. They want you to go there, too."
He scoffs.
"Uh, yeah. Right. I'd rather cut off my left pinkie than study microbial biology for four years like Becky did."
"Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Isn't Ashley going there?" I ask. He doesn't say anything; his lips purse instead.
"What?" I say.
"Nothing, just- I don't know. We're not together anymore," he says, scratching his chin. My stomach drops, and I look down at the shiny linoleum under my converse.
"Holy shit. She broke up with you?" I ask.
"No," he says, almost monotone. He doesn't elaborate any further, so I decide not to push. A knot in my stomach begins to form, and I think back to January earlier this year. We were all hanging out in Vince's basement, planning on playing Call of Duty. It was mostly Vince, Gus and I that played while the others watched, since we were the ones who actually liked it. But it was fun to hang out as a group nonetheless. T.J. was supposed to come, but he had broken the news to Gretchen that day. He would be a lot busier, he told her. Less time to hang out with the gang. He probably told Gretchen because he knew she would react in the most rational way.
"He's dating who?" Vince exclaimed, leaning forward on the couch. Gretchen had just explained why T.J. wouldn't be coming, and Vince was the last to find out about it.
"The queen bee herself," Gretchen says, a bowl of popcorn in her lap.
"T.J. hates Ashley A. though!" Vince says.
"Apparently not," Gus says as he turns the PlayStation on. Vince shoots him a look, to which Gus shrugs. I look up at the ceiling, my expression neutral but my stomach in knots.
"I didn't know he was interested in anyone. Did you, Spinelli?" Gretchen asks.
"Why would I know anything?" I ask, feeling my ears get hot.
"You're his closest friend. Well, besides me," Vince says.
I feel them all looking at me, and we're all thinking the same thing. Vince is right; T.J. normally tells me everything. Not this time, though.
"I had no fucking idea," I respond.
I shake my head slightly, shaking the feelings of that day away and shifting my focus back to the present moment. I look back at him to find him looking at me already, and the eye contact startles me for some reason. I look away. We walk for a few feet before I say anything.
"Have you started the new season of Regular Show yet?" I ask. We launch into a discussion about the new season, and we're both laughing, and I'm glad to have gotten off the topic of his love life.
We walk past my classroom, and I slow in front of the room. TJ takes a few steps forward before turning back.
"Ooh, Mr. Johnson. Good luck, Spin," he says before turning around and continuing down the hallway. I roll my eyes. We both know Johnson doesn't like when students are late, but since it's the first day, hopefully he cuts me some slack. I open the door and walk in. Mr. Johnson was in the middle of saying something, but looks up when I walk in.
"Ahh, you've made time in your busy schedule to drop into my little English class, have you, Miss Spinelli?" he asks, leaning on his desk.
So much for slack.
I mutter an apology and walk with my head down towards a familiar mop of blond hair with an empty seat beside him.
"Hopefully Mr. Blumberg will be kind enough to fill you in on what you missed," Mr. Johnson says. I hear Mikey snicker slightly before stifling it. I know we're thinking the same thing; I only missed the first ten minutes, so there's nothing to fill me in on.
The rest of the period goes on without a hitch; typical first day stuff: Johnson introducing himself, going over expectations. Boring. The course content seems really interesting, and at least I'm in the same class as Mikey. He's always loved English, and he took this class specifically because we're spending half the semester studying some of Shakespeare's poetry. By the time the bell rings, I'm actually kind of excited to start getting into the course material tomorrow.
"Ahh, can't you almost taste the knowledge we'll acquire this semester, Spinelli?" Mikey says as we file out of the classroom.
"All I can taste is piles of homework," I reply.
"A small price to pay for the lessons we'll learn from Shakespeare's timeless literature!" he says, almost dreamily.
"You sure are optimistic, huh Mikey?" I say, smirking.
I mutter a goodbye to Mikey when I have to start walking in the direction of my next class.
None of the gang are in this class with me, so I'm kind of bummed. I've had the teacher, Miss Kim, before though, so I know it won't be that bad. As I walk up the stairs, I can't stop thinking about my conversation with T.J. He and Ashley A. are broken up. I know I should feel bad, but I can't help feeling… happy? Maybe happy isn't the right word. I hadn't actually had to see Ashley A. all that much more than I usually would just because they were together. I despised her though, and I hated that one of my friends was entangled in her web of lies and manipulation. I guess I'm just glad that T.J. is out of that.
I walk through the door, and quietly groan; the classroom is already nearly full, and the only seat is near the back next to a window. I shuffle over to the seat and plop down in the chair.
"Ooh, look who it is!" a voice behind me says, followed by a series of giggles.
I'd know those voices anywhere. I should have known from the smell of hairspray and perfume.
I turn around and see that I'm surrounded by all four of the Ashley's.
Fuck.